When $ is short... veg/meat/dairy/fruit... which goes first?

[Thystle]

Which do you cut out first?


Just curious to see what the majority does.



In the past fresh fruit has gone first for me as it tended to be more pricey.

[mtm]

depends what is on sale, we don't do dairy already though. I'll also switch to frozen veg if money is tight.

[akwifeandmomma]

Fresh produce is first to hit the chopping block here, tho I usually just sub in whatever's on sale.

[zersha]

I wish it could be meat, but then dh wouldn't eat. So usually it would be fresh fruit or vegies because they usually are expensive, unless something is in season and really cheap.

I think that's sad that fruits & vegies have to be the 1st to go when money is tight. But dh won't touch them at all (well, maybe some corn or tomato sauce), so I figure it's better that everyone at least eats.

[the_lissa]

I'm surprised that people cut out fruits or veggies first. Meat or dairy is way more expensive than fresh produce here, even in the iwnter.

[Chula]

I don't buy meat. I buy a little dairy so that would go first. I have a freezer stash of garden veggies so I could go awhile without buying vegetables. Fresh fruit would be the last thing to go.

[jennlyn]

I chose meat, though it doesn't get cut out entirely. I try not to cut out any food group as another poster mentioned, sometimes it is a matter of frozen or canned fruit/veggies instead of fresh. If cutting back on meat, it is a matter of making a stir-fry or casserole instead of a full meat portion for everyone.

[CortLong]

For us, meat is definitely the first thing to go. I'd much rather feed our kids lots of veggie and do stir frys, veggie burritos, chilis, etc. than to cut out the fresh nutrients and fiber from veggies and fruits.

[LankyLizards]

I chose meat, but that's a cheat, because we are vegetarian, but I find it completely unecessary. Dairy would probably be next, as far as cheese and sour cream, but DD needs milk or she gets really really upset. Generally if money is tight I switch from organic milk to the store brand that has no hormones (but isn't organic). Next to go would be fresh veggies, I guess. Or out-of-season veggies, ones in season are usually pretty cheap. I would sub frozen veggies, though, not eliminate them altogether.

[Herausgeber]

Meat. It's by far the most expensive, since we buy organic.

Cutting vegetables and fruit would be more damaging to our health. It's a false economy.

[Marcee]

Fresh Fruit would be the first to go. Except we live in Orchard Country so I always have apples. So we would not miss much...

[BetsyS]

We don't really buy fresh fruit (it just never really appeals to me at the store, unless I'm making a concerted effort), so for us, meat is the first to go.

Although, when I find sales, I tend to really stock up. Think 16 meals of chicken at a time. I bought 31 lbs of ground beef on sale on Memorial Day. So, money has to be tight for a long time for us to be completely meat free. I just start cooking it a little bit less to stretch out how long it lasts. (And, if you're curious, we have 8 lbs of ground beef left, so we've eaten 23 lbs in 5 months. )

[RolliePollie]

Meat can really add up! If money is tight, we do a lot of rice/pasta/bean dishes. =)

[savithny]

I would say *fresh* fruit goes first, but you didn't specify fresh v. canned on the fruits and veggies.

I'd rpobably go from fresh to frozen fruits and veggies and to cheaper meat simoultaneously. From there, I'd be dropping meat meals before leaving fruit and veggies completely behind.

And once I'd dropped all the meat and most of the cheese (but not the yogurt), I'd go back and start doing fresh greens again because its hard to find my favorite dark leafies frozen.

[Benji'sMom]

I chose meat. It's the most expensive thing. Also milk could be limited even more than we already do. I can't cut out fresh fruit because DS1 is almost all fruitarian right now. Fresh veg I could, and just sub with frozen if it's cheaper per lb. But really that's not necessary because cutting out meat saves so much money that we don't have to do without anything else.

[wonderwahine]

fruit, because my fil eats far to much of it, it barely lasts 3 days.

if we can afford it, I get canned fruit for him.

[sadean]

When money is tight, I switch red meat out in favor of chicken and if it is really tight, I go for eggs instead of meat. I try to always buy fresh and frozen fruit and veggies.

[GooeyRN]

We rarely buy meat since I am a veggie. We only buy it for dh maybe once a month. So, first we drop fruit, then veggies. We never had to drop dairy due to finances. We have many days where we live on just carbs. Not ideal, but money only goes so far.

[PajamaMama]

I am the only one who picked veggies? I would stop buying fresh and go for frozen with veggies before fruit, because frozen veggies are great but you can't leave a bowl of frozen fruit on the countertop for kids to grab as they go past

I buy very little meat and I don't buy milk to drink, only for cooking, so those things are more of a necessity than fresh veggies, in my opinion.

If I had to completely eliminate a group from the diet of course it would be meat though. We could have a perfectly healthy and varied diet without it.

[wonderwahine]

Originally Posted by PajamaMama

I am the only one who picked veggies? I would stop buying fresh and go for frozen with veggies before fruit, because frozen veggies are great but you can't leave a bowl of frozen fruit on the countertop for kids to grab as they go past

I buy very little meat and I don't buy milk to drink, only for cooking, so those things are more of a necessity than fresh veggies, in my opinion.

If I had to completely eliminate a group from the diet of course it would be meat though. We could have a perfectly healthy and varied diet without it.

in our area, fresh vs frozen veggies arn't a big price difference. And I already use some frozen veggies anyway.

we only eat turkey or chicken in our house anyway, so cutting out meat would be cutting out our only major protein source. I just find creative ways to make the meat streach.